1. Technical Field
A positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery, a method of preparing the same, and a rechargeable lithium battery including the same are disclosed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rechargeable lithium batteries have recently drawn attention as power sources for small, portable electronic devices. Rechargeable lithium batteries use organic electrolytes and thereby have two or more times the discharge voltage than a conventional battery using an alkali aqueous solution, and accordingly have high energy density.
These rechargeable lithium batteries are manufactured by injecting an electrolyte into a battery cell including a positive electrode, a negative electrode. The positive electrode includes a positive active material that can intercalate and deintercalate lithium, and the negative electrode includes a negative active material that intercalates and deintercalates lithium.
Although LiCoO2 has been used as the positive active material, this material has capacity restrictions and safety concerns. Accordingly, certain substitute materials are being researched.
On the other hand, LiCoO2 has stable electrochemical characteristics, LiNiO2 has high-capacity, and LiMnO2 has good thermal stability and is low in cost. Accordingly, Co—Ni—Mn ternary lithium metal composite oxides have been researched in an effort to combine these advantages. However, although the ternary lithium metal composite oxide has high capacity, this material also has weak thermal stability and cycle-life characteristics.